A cure for melancholia

I suffer from melancholia. (The word "melancholia" carries so much more weight than "depression," don't you think? I prefer most of the old-fashioned malady names to their newfangled counterparts. "I'm afraid I can't go to work today; I have the vapors." When I felt a bit poorly as a kid, my mom called it the Collywobbles. When it was more serious, it was the High Fantods.)

Most melancholiacs have an arsenal of weapons to fight the disease tooth and nail -- and I am no exception. A surefire way to feel better is to find someone who is even more miserable than one's self. I call it relativity therapy. And who could be more miserable than the Finns? If you doubt me, just listen to this lament by the Helsinki Complaints Choir.

If you want to take the high road out of the Valley of Depression, you can always watch one of the great silent comedians: Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Harpo Marx, or Bill Irwin. Here's a clip of Chaplin and Keaton performing together (as it's a Chaplin movie, Charlie steals the show). To give Buster his due, here's a Keaton montage. Here's Harpo and Groucho in a scene from Duck Soup. And here's the ending of Safety Last, starring Harold Lloyd. Be sure to watch the very last scene, where he walks off into the sunset -- across a puddle of tar. It's one of my favorite movie moments.